TikTok Faces Uncertain Future In The U.S. After Congressional Hearing
Photo by: CNN
On Thursday, March 23rd, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew sat before Congress to discuss the impact and implications of his growing social media app. In this crucial hearing, which could decide the future of the app in the U.S., Chew provided a passionate defense of the platform, and sought to address U.S. regulatory concerns about its ties to China. Chew believes that banning TikTok in the U.S. will evidently hurt American businesses and the economy.
The hearing lasted over five hours and was reportedly kicked off with calls from a lawmaker to ban the app in the United States (CNN Business). While Chew attempted to ease the longstanding concerns about the app as it relates to U.S. data and privacy, it was revealed that China-based employees at TikTok’s parent company Bytedance may still have access to some U.S. date from the app. Bytedance is a Chinese internet technology company headquarted in Beijing. Bytedance developed video-sharing social apps like TikTok. U.S. lawmakers and intelligence fear that user data can get into the hands of the government via Bytedance.
In December, ByteDance revealed that it fired employees who leveraged TikTok to spy on journalists. During the congressional hearing, it was revealed that the FBI and the Department of Justice have been investigating the incident. Congress believes that the app’s surveillance tactics should be prohibited and illegal in the United States.
But despite the growing security and privacy concerns of allowing TikTok in America, survey shows that many marketers and brands expect to increase spending on the platform in the next 12 months. According to a survey done by Capterra, which surveyed over 300 marketers and business, 82% of respondents said that a US TikTok ban would have moderate to significant impact on achieving their advertising objectives. With that said many brands do not believe that the federal government will actually ban TikTok or prevent it from operating in the U.S.